Herbal Cannabis (Cannabis, marijuana), Cannabis resin (hashish), and extracts of Cannabis resin (hashish oil) are still the most abused illicit drugs of the world. It is estimated that over 8,000 tons of Cannabis are being consumed in the United States each year. The majority of this material is smuggled into the country from major Cannabis-producing countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Jamaica, and Thailand. More recently an increase of the domestic production has been observed.
In an effort to combat drug abuse, the current U.S. Administration policy has been multifaceted. One of the major efforts to reduce availability of the drug is through enforcement and interdiction. To have a successful interdiction program, it is important to know where the illicit drug is coming from so that resources can be allocated where most needed to stop shipments. There are reasons to believe that Cannabis from one country is being shipped to the United States through intermediate countries, for example, Colombian or Thai Cannabis through Mexico to the United States. Consequently, a seizure of Cannabis at the Mexican border does not necessarily mean that it originated in Mexico. A procedure to determine the country of origin of a Cannabis sample is thus of great importance in law enforcement and forensic science applications.
Attempts have been made in the past to classify Cannabis based on its country of origin with little success. Turner, C.E.; and Hadley, K.W.; Constituents of Cannabis sativa L., II: Absence of cannabidiol in an African variant, J. Pharm. Sci., 62:251-255, 1973; Turner, C.E.; Hadley, K.W.; and Fetterman, P.S.; Constituents of Cannabis sativa L., VI: Propyl homologs in samples of known geographical origin, J. Pharm. Sci., 62:1739-1741, 1973; and Holley, J.H.; Hadley, K.W.; and Turner., C.E.; Constituents of Cannabis sativa L., XI: Cannabidiol and cannabichromene in samples of known geographical origin, J. Pharm. Sci., 64:892-894, 1975.
Stromberg, L.; Minor components of Cannabis resin, III: Comparative gas chromatographic analysis of hashish, J. Chromatog., 68:253-258, 1972; and de Zeeuw, R.A.; Wijsbeek, J.: and Malingre, T.M.; Interference of alkanes in the gas chromatographic analysis of Cannabis products, J. Pharm. Pharmcol., 25:21-26, 1973.
None of the methods suggested to date have provided a method for determining geographical origin of marijuana.
This invention deals with the development of a procedure which allows for the distinction of marijuana samples from different countries on the basis of their chemical profiles.